Relight a Photo with the Hard Mix Blend Mode

Relight any photo with the Hard Mix Blend Mode in Photoshop!

The Hard Mix blend mode has very quickly become my favorite blend mode to experiment with. Every time I use it in a unique way it seems to pull through with flying colors. It is a remarkable blend mode.

You may be scratching your head at that if you have ever used it before. By default, the Hard Mix is junk, absolute trash. When you first select it, you will see a whole bunch of pixelated colors that are hideous and almost offensive.

That is because Hard Mix is controlled by Fill, not Opacity! The lightbulb should be going off now 🙂 One thing to note about the Hard Mix blend mode is that many programs in the photography market include it, but they fail to include a fill slider to control it. The Fill slider acts as a calculation control where opacity works as an intensity control.

The mechanics behind the Hard Mix Blend Mode never cease to amaze me. As you can see it makes it very easy and fun to experiment with.

In today’s tutorial, I am going to show you how I use the Hard Mix Blend Mode to relight photos. This is especially useful for images with a less than appealing Alpen glow look that you want to amplify.

A couple of things to experiment with:

1. The Hard Mix Blend Mode rests critically on your Fill setting… keep it between 10-20% for a natural appearance.

2. Use Blend If to block the Brightest and darkest points in your photo. HArd Mix does some funky stuff to them.

3. Experiment with Brushed Colors, Color Fills, and Gradients. They will all respond differently to the Hard Mix Blend Mode.

Enjoy today’s tutorial, and please feel free to download my actions, experiment with them and make your own if you are so inclined!

Wow, I just watched this a tried it on an image I previously edited of a seagull on the beach.

Of course the edit is rough, but the difference is immediately noticeable. The amount of control this process offers is awesome! The image looks more naturally lit and I was able to emphasize lighting precisely.

This technique is a significant restructure to my post-processing thinking. Can’t wait to try it out. And, thanks for making the science behind Ps more accessible. That, to my mind, is significant too. I feel better armed to explore my own style knowing why things happen the way they do.

No. ON1 ha the Hard Mix Blend Mode in their list, but they shouldn’t unless there is a way to reduce the fill of the blend mode. Most programs put it in there because Photoshop has it but rarely add the Fill to go along with it. It is useless without fill.

I experiment A LOT! This tip came out of necessity to teach someone how to make an Alpen Glow more glowy in an f.64 Elite Critique. Those critique sessions are a treasure trove of great ideas. They come to me when I help others make their images better and give them new ways to use simple tools.

OK, Blake, I know how to send my thanks to you now… I have to go >>way down<< the long list of other thanks to find the place where I can express my appreciation for the tutorials and wisdom you share so generously! Thanks for this piece on great tutorial on the Hard Mix blend mode, one more to add to the ones you have shared before.

Triple Wow. Not just for this tutorial, but for all the ones that you share on your blog. You have a gift for making complexity much easier and for knowing how to combine various edits in Photoshop into short videos with great results. Thank you!